Baystate Jeepers

First of all a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Kurt for hosting this memorable event! Also many thanks to Carl, Kelly and Doug for lending their time, expertise and elbow grease making this such a successful day and night! Also there were tons of laughs during this time so we forgot to be tired.

Carol and I both have 4" lift kits with 1" body lifts and 1" motor mounts. We were in desperate need of upgrading to Sye's and Tummy Tucks (our Jeeps that is). We ordered our parts through Lou at ELIAS and they arrived in time for Saturday - Kurt picked them up for us. Carol and I got to Kurt's house around 8:15 a.m. that Saturday. Waiting for us in Kurt's garage were Crown SYE kits, Tom Woods Drive Shafts, BDS rear control arms and Teraflex skid plates. All we needed was a tree and it would feel like Christmas! Anyway we were both amazed at how organized and methodical Kurt was in tearing down both Jeeps at the same time!

After removing Carol's old sled of a belly pan, Kurt removed her transfer case and did the SYE rebuild with Carol and myself either helping out with what we could or observing how this was done. Carol's had chocolate milk shake fluid in her transfer case and not a lot either - not sure when that was changed if ever. Kurt also showed us a trick on how to get the bolts out of the belly pans without stripping the screws that hold them to the frame (lots of PB Blaster too). At that time Kelly and Doug showed up and then Carl soon after that - so they all got down and dirty with us as well. Kurt then installed Carol's transfer case and started working to remove my belly pan. Kurt found I had two strippers on my old belly pan and also there were mismatched screws from the prior owner when they did the drop before (three were Allen heads and three were conventional screws). So the cutter had to called into place to remove those offending strippers. Both Carl and Doug assisted me with this project since I am rookie and did not want to lose any eyebrows or digits.

In the meantime, Carl and Carol and myself starting working on installing her new skid plate on her Jeep, removing the rear control arms, installing the new rear control arms and installing the Drive shaft. Kurt also found out that her front drive shaft yoke wiggled around too much, that meant the crush sleeve had not been tightened enough when it was regeared by someone else last year so add that to the To Do list. Carl also did a bit of welding to reinstall a broken bracket that held the CAT up.

Same procedures with Carol's were going on with my Jeep. Kurt also discovered I have a leaking front pinion seal and also the front axle seals needed upgrading so add that to the list.

Carol and I were at Kurt's until 11:30 pm that night. My Jeep still needs to be finished and is at Kurt's, and including shortening the new rear lower control arms to finish this project as we are waiting on a couple more parts from ELIAS so uppers won't need to be replaced. Carol's Jeep needs a new bracket for her 4WD so Kurt is working on this as well but she is getting around in 2WD for now.

All in all both Carol and I learned so much that day from everyone. Kurt we cannot thank you enough for everything and also all your patience! Many thanks too to Kelly, Doug and Carl and we could not ask for a more supportive Jeep club! Here are some pictures from that day:

Thank you Kurt! Cannot believe the difference in my Jeep now. No more bad vibrations - it feels like driving stock again. Pretty nice to look out and not see the "sled" hanging underneath my Jeep any longer. Thanks Carl, Kelly and Doug too for your assistance with these projects. It was a fun time!

Carol & Rob,

You are most welcome

What a great day Saturday was!
That was a fun day of wrenching, laughing and hanging out with great club members.
It was an ambitious undertaking to do what we did to two Jeeps in one day!
That you to Doug, Kelly & Carl for helping out. Could have never got as much done without all your help.

midniteryder wrote:
Carol and I were at Kurt's until 11:30 pm that night

I felt so bad about having to bail at 8! But I'm really glad I was there to lend a hand. When it comes to helping, Kurt is a man on a mission

Looks like a great time very nice pics.

dizilbdog wrote:Looks like a great time very nice pics.

Thank you - it was a fun learning experience including just every-day-and-after-every-trail-ride maintenance on our Jeeps, how to change fluids, etc. so we can keep these babies running a long time hopefully!

PeaceFrog wrote:

dizilbdog wrote:Looks like a great time very nice pics.

Thank you - it was a fun learning experience including just every-day-and-after-every-trail-ride maintenance on our Jeeps, how to change fluids, etc. so we can keep these babies running a long time hopefully!

X2 Carol! What a great time and such awesome members we have here at BSJ who are more than willing to help out!
Kudos one more time to Kurt, Doug, Kelly & Carl!!!!!!!!!

Hellava job , Two Jeeps in one day ! FjR68

Frank wrote:Hellava job , Two Jeeps in one day ! FjR68

Thank you Frank!

Great job guys!

I was really hoping to stop in as I headed up to Milford, NH to pick up an XJ Dana44 for Micky's Jeep, but we had a scout cleanup til 1 and had to pick up Michaela from work at 5.

Looks like you had fun! Misery LOVES company.

Last Saturday (4/23) Part Deux of this Wrenchfest --- plus Rob had to pick up and finish some work on his Heep at Kurt's. This was only a 7 hour day compared to 15 hours the week before! Finished up my Jeep with the following:

1) Replaced my front Rough Country lower control arms (bushings were gonzo and not even a year old on this RC suspension) with adjustable BDS LCA's. Now no more "movement" under the front of my Heep. The BDS are really nice too with the ability to grease them.
2) Kurt had to adjust my shift linkage now with the SYE installed. My current linkage rod had the lockbolt previously welded so it would stay put (done last year by a shop) - Kurt had to fabricate another one using my old linkage rod. He cut off the old lockbolt and put another one on. Shifter works great now shifting in and out of 4H, 4L and 2H.
3) Installed rear bump stops with Poly - old ones fell out somewhere recently. Rob and I struggled for about 15 minutes - then Kurt showed us a trick on how to put these on (he's got a bag of tricks when a part does not want to cooperate!).
4) Replaced my Autolite spark plugs with Champion - Kurt coached me on how to remove the wires, pull out the old plugs and install a new ones. Well I got overconfident and starting hurrying along when I accidently cross-threaded #4 putting in the new plug! Kurt didn't even miss a beat - he pulled out a tool and rethreaded my error! So this episode ended well. I guess this tool was specially made to get rookies out of a jam!

Again cannot thank Kurt enough for his time and especially his patience! I can say my Jeep handles sooo much better - I don't feel all beat up after driving it with everything shaking like before.

Still have more work to do before Rausch - change both Diffs' gear oil, change transmission seal and filter (weeping tranny fluid), and replace head gasket seal (weepy oil leak). Think Rob and I can accomplish this at home.